The
air forces of the US-led coalition are working to undermine the
anti-terrorist efforts of the Syrian government, Colonel General
Sergey Surovikin of the Russian ground forces has said.

“Despite
promoting the aim of fighting international terrorism, the coalition
is striking the Syrian military, allowing IS militants to leave
encircled areas unhindered, thus strengthening the terrorist
groupings near Palmyra and Deir ez-Zor,” Surovikin said.

“The
coalition air forces and the strongholds of the forces of New Syrian
Army [now known as the Revolutionary Commando Army] have blocked the
way of the government forces, tasked with defeating IS [Islamic
State] groups,” he said at a briefing on Friday. “This is a
violation of the sovereign right of Syria to protect it borders,”
he said.

The
statement comes after US warplanes stuck pro-government forces near
At Tanf on Thursday, the third such incident in the space of several
weeks.

"During
their offensive, government troops met counteraction from the
international coalition, led by the US,” Surovikin said, calling
the US demand for Syrian forces not to approach the positions of the
New Syrian Army “absolutely groundless.”